VET Student Loans

VET Student Loans (VSL) commenced on 1 January 2017, replacing VET FEE-HELP, which ceased on 31 December 2016. VSL is only available for Diploma level courses.

What is VET Student Loans?

The Australian Government is committed to increasing productivity, addressing skills shortages and assisting with the cost of studying. One of the measures that achieve these goals is the availability of VET Student Loans.

VET Student Loans assists eligible students undertaking certain VET courses of study with an approved VET provider, to pay for all or part of their tuition costs. A VET provider is a registered training organisation who has been approved by the Australian Government to offer VET Student Loans assistance to their students.

Eligibility

To access VET Student Loan you must be an eligible student. To find out if you are eligible, see the VET Student Loan website for full details of eligibility requirements here.

Alternatively, you may call us and we can ask the necessary questions to give you a preliminary evaluation.

Applying

If you are eligible for VET Student Loans assistance and would like to apply, you should contact Melbourne College of Hair and Beauty (MCOHB) who will assist you in applying by confirming your eligibility and providing you with the VET Student Loan information booklets, course fees, semester dates and Census Days. MCOHB will explain how to apply for an Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF).

Once you have read the VET Student Loans Information Booklet, complete the Request for a VET Student Loan eCAF by the Census Day. You should contact us if you are unsure how to complete any of the above.

If you do not complete the eCAF, or other permitted form, by the required date for your course, you will have to wait until the next semester to request a VET Student Loan for future study. Retrospective access to VET Student Loans is not allowed under any circumstances.

Key Information

What is a Census Day?A date by which you may cancel your enrolment without incurring tuition fees for the course or a part of the course is a census day.

What is a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN)?After the census date, your provider will send you a CAN. The CAN includes important information about your enrolment, any HELP debt you have incurred or student contribution amounts you have paid, and any loan fee you may have incurred.

What is a Fee Notice?A Fee Notice is given to you a minimum of 14 days before your upcoming Census Day. It tells you the:

amount covered by VET Student Loan,

amount you must pay yourself (if any)

loan fee amount

What is an Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment Form (eCAF)?An eCAF is when you confirm you wish to use VSL for your course through the electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) system.

Fees and Charges

The Cap for the courses is set by the Government at $10,150 – this is the most you can borrow for courses offered at MCOHB. A 20% loan fees applies to VET Student Loans for full fee paying, or fee for service students. The loan fee does not count towards your FEE-HELP limit. The FEE-HELP limit changes each year. For current limits, click here.

Repayments

Your VET Student Loans debt forms part of your accumulated HELP debt. You must start repaying your HELP debt through the tax system once your income is above the compulsory repayment threshold, even if you are still studying.

The threshold is adjusted each year so for current repayment amounts, please click here. Repayments made through the Australian taxation system are called compulsory repayments and continue until you have repaid your whole debt. Visit Study Assist for more information.

Withdrawal from VET Student Loans

You must withdraw correctly by the Census Day to avoid a VET Student Loans debt.

In accordance with VET guidelines, students will not be charged any fine, penalty or fee for withdrawal. There are no administrative or financial barriers imposed on students who wish to withdraw prior to the Census Day. Students will not remain enrolled from the date of notification of withdrawal or cancellation and if a student wishes to enrol in subsequent VET units of study they must re-enrol in accordance with MCOHB’s enrolment procedures.

To withdraw correctly, you must complete an official withdrawal form. You can submit it to MCOHB in person, by scanned email image, or post to Level 1, 244 Flinders Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000.